The ocean floor hides many mysteries. Here, for example, a terrible killer lurked, able to cope with the inhabitants of medium size. This is a purple Australian worm, which has become the prototype of the monsters of many fantastic "horror movies."
Description
This unique representative of the ocean bottom fauna, one of the many-lamellar worms from the class of annelids. The class includes over 10 thousand different species. All of them have been studied to varying degrees, but the Australian worm is rarely found, so it is poorly studied. It is precisely known that this is one of the largest representatives of the class. The length of the studied individuals was from 2 to 3 m. However, in the natural environment it is impossible to see the whole animal.
The monster is buried in the bottom soil, leaving only the top part on top. There are jaws with huge tenacious hooks. The Australian worm does not have a brain and eyes, so to name the body section, equipped with the jaws of the head, somehow the tongue does not turn. The role of the brain in this representative of annelids is played by the ganglion, that is, the accumulation of nerve cells from which the abdominal nerve chain begins. The body of the worm consists of numerous segments, in each ring the complex of the internal organs of the worm is repeated. Most likely, the Australian worm does not have separate gills. Their function is given to the corolla of the tentacles of the head portion of the body. The diameter of the worm’s joint is about 5 cm.
Unexpected meeting
It is believed that in nature a ringed monster has existed for a very long time. Confirmation of their existence is found in ancient sediments, whose age is not less than 485 million years. But the first individual fell into the hands of a person in one of the representative offices of the Blue Reef, a national network of British public aquariums. It happened in 2009.
The Australian worm got into one of the aquariums with a small larva; over the course of several years, the individual grew and began to actively hunt for local fish. The decrease in the number of fish in the aquarium was noticed by the network employees and sounded the alarm. A full cleaning of the aquarium tank was carried out, and a huge animal was found in the bottom sediments, the size and jaws of which inspired animal horror for the workers. Scientists have described the newfound monster and called it the Australian purple worm.
But much earlier, the Australian worm was described as Nereis aphroditois. It happened back in the 18th century. Then P.S. Pallas presented a paper that amended the Linnean classification of worms. Today this species is called Eunice aphrodito (Eunice aphroditois).
The Australian worm, whose photo is just awesome, has another name - Bobbit Worm. The name is derived from the name of Lorena Bobbit, who, defending herself against violence, cut off part of the penis to her drunk husband. The English language has the verb to bobbit, it translates as cut or shred.
Some saw a funny similarity between the lifestyle of a predatory worm and the lawsuit against the unfortunate Lorena. But there is no exact confirmation of the connection between the name and this story. Maybe it's just a "city legend." The question of the name is often raised in the scientific community, but still remains open.
A bit about lifestyle
The purple Australian worm lives at a depth of 10 to 45 m. It prefers warm water and is found in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Estimated hunting time is night. The predator catches the movement of prey with antennas in the head. Her capture occurs with a lightning throw. The worm drags the defeated enemy into a hole under the sand. The diet of the Australian worm contains crustaceans, mollusks and fish of various sizes.
Another “Australian”
There is another giant annelid worm in the name of which is the word "Australian". The giant's name is the Australian earthworm. It lives in one of the rural areas of Australia. But here it comes across quite rarely. The length of these "worms" can be up to 3 m. The body thickness is small, about 3 cm. When meeting this invertebrate is often confused with a thin snake. However, there is nothing in common between these representatives of the animal world.
The Australian earthworm is found only in areas with moist clay soil. The habitat is limited, it is approximately 1000 km². A small population is associated with the destruction of eucalyptus forests. Giant earthworms simply do not fit dry soil after felling. In addition, agricultural work made adjustments to the population.